Wolverhampton Wanderers: 5 of Wolves' Best Youngsters Who Deserve a Shot at the 1st Team in 2019/20

After winning the Premier League Asia Trophy, Wolves will be expected to close the gap between the top six and the chasing pack next season. However, the club's

After winning the Premier League Asia Trophy, Wolves will be expected to close the gap between the top six and the chasing pack next season.

However, the club's extremely small squad size is no secret. As the season progresses and a reliable squad depth comes into play, Nuno Santo will surely have to rely on some of the club's hot prospects.

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The side that finished seventh in the 2018/19 season wasn't exactly old, with Morgan Gibbs-White featuring 31 times in all competitions at just 18 years old. Moreover, the instrumental key players Diogo Jota and Ruben Neves are still only 21 years old.

Given Nuno's tendency to lean towards youth, paired with the squad's possible fragility in numbers, here is six of Wolves' brightest prospects who could make a name for themselves in the 2019/20 season.

Rafa Mir

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The young Spaniard was brought to Wolves by Nuno back in January of 2018 from Valencia. However, he struggled to make an impact on the Championship, playing just two games in the second half of the season.

Mir didn't feature in Wolves' superb 2019/20 Premier League campaign as he was loaned back to Spain, joining Las Palmas for the season.

Scoring seven times in the Spanish Segunda Division, the now 22-year-old proved he could play at a second tier level and will be eager to make the next step up.

With Raul Jimenez as the club's only current out and out striker, Mir could be useful to give the Mexican a break.

Ruben Vinagre

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The Portuguese left-back did make an impact on Wolves' starting lineup at points throughout last season. The 20-year-old made 10 starts in the 2019/20 campaign.

With Jonny Otto comfortably holding down the left side of Wolves' defence, Vinagre may struggle to increase on the amount of first team football he saw last season.

However, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals shows that Nuno is not opposed to a cup run, giving the youngsters at Wolves increased chances of first team football.

Vinagre made a case for himself last season and has done the same in pre-season, scoring Wolves' third penalty as they beat Man City 3-2 on penalties will ensure he is remembered.

Niall Ennis

After coming off the bench in both of Wolves' Premier League Asia Trophy games, the young centre-forward is experiencing ever increasing first team football.

Contributing to 19 goals in 44 appearances in last season's Premier League 2, Ennis impressed Nuno enough to earn his debut in the EFL Cup. Clearly, the young striker has showed potential and joining the first team's pre-season training camp will provide much needed confidence.

Although Ennis may not quite be up to Premier League standards this season, he has proved he is not far from it.

Max Kilman

Kilman has also come on as a substitute in both of Wolves' pre-season friendlies, missing one of the many missed penalties in the shootout against Man City. The English defender made his Premier League debut last season when he came off the bench against Fulham.

Check out this unstoppable strike from young defender Max Kilman during training today!

🚀👏 pic.twitter.com/ao5bPh8XoF

— Wolves (@Wolves) March 5, 2019

The 22-year-old has made 25 appearances for the England national futsal team, but he put that career path on hold when he signed for Wolves back in 2018.

While it is expected that Kilman will see most of his action in the Under-23s, Nuno wouldn't have given him some much needed first team experience over the summer for no reason. 

Nathaniel Shio Hong Wan

“I feel very privileged and blessed to become the first Chinese player to play for Wolves.”

A delighted Hong reflects on his rapid Wolves journey to join the #PLAsiaTrophy squad and his experience making his debut in a special atmosphere.

🐺🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/zr5RGI2EKA

— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) July 18, 2019

Signed this summer to feature predominantly in the Under-23s, the Molineaux faithful could see much more of Hong than expected.

The 18-year-old replaced Neves as Wolves went on to lift the Premier League Asia Trophy, showing the confidence that Nuno already has in the youngster.